Quiz: Howstuffworks

How Much Do You Know About Ancient Mythology?

About This Quiz

Ancient mythology follows the lives of the gods and goddesses who looked out over the world of humans, often creating obstacles and hardships for those who praised them and their enemies.

Whether Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Norse or anywhere else in the world, mythology may have actually been based on real histories whose lives were later blown into epic stories. Mythology tries to answer the curiosities of the world, nature and why people behave. They attempted to explain existence and death. To those who told the stories, it was the meaning of mythological stories that took precedent over the facts and details of a story.

Like many people, you will see the similarities between Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek mythology, and for a good reason - they were adopted from each other, which were also adopted from Egyptian mythology. But, can you figure out this convoluted mess? Do you know who the Roman deity for Zeuss was? You do? Okay, how about the Roman form of Aphrodite? Do you know what Poseidon always had at his side or what famous island civilization he sank?

It's time for you to turn the table son the Gods by answering the questions into their lives, creation, and stories. Take this quiz... that is unless you are afraid to be taken down by a bolt of lightning.

Who opened a box and cursed humanity?

The Minotaur

Theseus

Pandora

Pandora opened up a whole can of worms. More specifically, she opened a box that cursed humanity with the evils of the world.

Who was the goddess of love?

Aphrodite

Artemis

Alicia

Aphrodite was the goddess of love. If you were needing a little lovin' in your life, that was who you prayed to.

What was the name of the famous winged horse?

Oliver

Publius

Pegasus

Pegasus was a winged horse. Today, Pegasus is merely a constellation in the sky!

Hades was the god of ______ .

Death

The Underworld

Both

Hades was once the god of death and the underworld. He was basically the Greek version of the Christian devil.

Zeus was the lord of what realm?

Heavens

Seas

Underworld

Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were brothers. One was the lord of the heavens, one of the sea, and one of the underworld.

Who descended into the underworld to obtain his bride?

Herod

Orpheus

Romulus

Orpheus famously descended into the underworld to retrieve his bride. Hades was kind and let him have her.

Who was the god of war?

Artemis

Hera

Ares

Ares was the god of war, but people thought he was a coward. His sister Athena was far more courageous than he was.

Artemis was the twin sister of _______ .

Athena

Apollo

Poseidon

Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo. She is a huntress, and is famous for being the virgin goddess.

Theseus is famous for going into ______ .

The rainforest

The arctic tornado

A labyrinth

Theseus is famous for going into a labyrinth and slaying the Minotaur. By doing so, he saved the city's people from the burden of sacrifice.

Who was the hideous woman with snakes for hair?

Omarosa

Constance

Medusa

Medusa was famously an ugly woman. She had snakes for hair and anyone that looked at her turned to stone.

Who was the father of the gods?

Aries

Capricorn

Zeus

Zeus was the father of the gods. Zeus was prolific in the sack and took on animal forms in order to fulfill his desires.

The Greek gods were known as ______ gods.

Olympian

Bucolic

Apostolic

The Greek gods were otherwise known as Olympian gods. They're also referred to as the Greek Pantheon.

Who gave birth to Earth and love?

Gaia

Eros

Chaos

It all started with Chaos. From Chaos came Earth (Gaia) and love (Eros.)

Who did Gaia give birth to?

Sky

Sea

Mountains

All of the above

Being Earth, Gaia gave birth to the Sky, Sea, and Mountains. She took Sky (Uranus) to be her husband. Wait, wasn't that her child?

Who did Aphrodite have an adulterous love affair with?

Ares

Hermes

Ignoramus

Aphrodite had a scandalous love affair with Ares. They had a lot of children together, including Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Anteros, and Harmonia.

True or False: Athena had a city named after her.

True

False

It's true that Athena had a city named after her. That would be Athens, the capital of Greece!

Athena was _____ .

Fully mortal

Fully goddess

Half mortal

Athena had a mortal mother, whom Zeus got pregnant. Athena was born out of Zeus' head because he decided to eat Athena's mother when she became pregnant.

Athens was the world's first ______ .

Communist state

Theocracy

Democracy

Athens was the world's first democracy. That makes sense, considering that Athena was the goddess of wisdom.

Athenians wrote the world's first ______ .

Recipes

Haiku

Plays

Athenians are famous for a lot of things. They wrote the world's first plays, both comedy and tragedy, which are still performed today.

Which of these great thinkers came from Athens?

Socrates

Plato

Aristotle

All of the above

These were all famous Athenians, and some of the greatest thinkers of all time. Again, you see why Athena is still associated with wisdom?

What did Poseidon carry?

Machette

Trident

AK47

Poseidon was famous for carrying a trident, which is a three-pronged spear. He ruled the sea and drove a golden chariot.

Poseidon was famous for ______ .

Being unchangeable

His level-headedness

His tempestuous nature

Naturally, being the god of the sea, Poseidon was a little unpredictable. He was also the god of earthquakes.

Every god had a ______ to watch over.

City

Continent

Hemisphere

Every god had a city that they were charged with watching over. The city would then show their thanks by honoring that god.

What city did Poseidon famously sink?

Athens

Atlantis

Rome

Poseidon is famous for sinking the city of Atlantis; he created a terrible earthquake that destroyed the city.

Who was the messenger of the gods?

Aaron

Ruffio

Hermes

Hermes was the messenger of the gods. He had winged sandals, and he was always getting into mischief.

Who was a better warrior?

Ares

Athena

When it came to these war-loving siblings, Athena was by far the better warrior. Ares was haughty and tempestuous, but he just wasn't great at fighting.

True or False: Troy never existed.

True

False

Troy truly did exist. The ruins of Troy have been found in modern-day Turkey.

What was the name of the ancient war in Greece that lasted for 27 years?

The Mediterranean War

The Olympic War

The Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War famously lasted 27 years. The cities within Greece had a serious bone to pick with one another.

In Roman times, Ares became ______ .

Lucius

Herbert

Mars

The Greeks didn't like Ares all that much, but the Romans just loved him. They called him Mars, and they turned him into a hero.

Who was the Roman version of Zeus?

Romulus

Jupiter

Escalus

The Roman version of Zeus was Jupiter. Each Greek god eventually had a Roman equivalent.

Who was the Roman version of Aphrodite?

Venus

Clarissa

Ruth

The Roman version of Aphrodite was Venus. Remember the famous painting of Venus on the half shell?

What is the symbol synonymous with Zeus?

Trident

Cow

Thunderbolt

The traditional symbol for Zeus is the thunderbolt. He was the god of gods, and a very wise man.

Which of these was an international version of Zeus?

Thor

Ukko

Tlaloc

All of the above

These were all international version of Zeus, the god of thunder and lightning. In Norse mythology, it was Thor, for the Finns, it was Ukko, and for the Aztecs, it was Tlaloc.

Aphrodite's son Eros became _____ to the Romans.

Hans

Cupid

Sphinx

Aphrodite's son Eros became Cupid to the Romans. They pictured him as a little boy with wings and a bow and arrow.

Who was the goddess of marriage?

Hera

Juno

Both

Hera was the goddess of marriage for the Greeks, and Juno was goddess of marriage for the Romans. They were each married to the god of gods.

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